Further to the Stimulus Package announced last week by the Australian Government to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19, the ATO have now advised that “we will work shoulder-to-shoulder with businesses to assist them through this difficult period and do what we can to ease the pressure”.
In an approach not taken by the ATO before, they appear to be genuinely concerned for businesses and want to work with business owners to help them get through this tough period.
The ATO is encouraging businesses impacted by the Coronavirus to get in touch with them to discuss relief options. The Commissioner of Taxation Chris Jordan announced that “once you contact us, we’ll tailor a support plan for your needs and circumstances”.
The options available to the ATO to assist businesses impacted by COVID-19 include:
- Deferring by up to four months the payment date of amounts due through the business activity statement (including PAYG instalments), income tax assessments, fringe benefits tax assessments and excise.
- Allow businesses on a quarterly reporting cycle to opt into monthly GST reporting in order to get quicker access to GST refunds they may be entitled to.
- Allowing businesses to vary Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalment amounts to zero for the March 2020 quarter. Businesses that vary their PAYG instalment to zero can also claim a refund for any instalments made for the September 2019 and December 2019 quarters.
- Remitting any interest and penalties, incurred on or after 23 January 2020, that have been applied to tax liabilities.
- Working with affected businesses to help them pay their existing and ongoing tax liabilities by allowing them to enter into low interest payment plans.
Whilst the ATO appear to be genuine to their approach in assisting businesses, they warn that employers will still need to meet their ongoing super guarantee obligations for their employees.
More information can be found on the ATO website – https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Dealing-with-disasters/In-detail/Specific-disasters/COVID-19/
If you need any assistance with dealing with the ATO, please do not hesitate to contact your TAG advisor.
Disclaimer: The information contained on this page is general in nature. Professional advice should be sought before acting on any aspect on this page.